calamine

See also: calaminé

English edit

Etymology edit

From French calamine, from Medieval Latin calamīna, from Latin cadmīa, ultimately from Ancient Greek Κᾰδμείᾱ (Kadmeíā), from Κάδμος (Kádmos, “Cadmus”) + -εια (-eia, “-ia: forming related substances”). Doublet of cadmia, calaminaris, and lapis calaminaris.

Noun edit

calamine (usually uncountable, plural calamines)

(inorganic chemistry) Synonym of smithsonite, a pink form of zinc oxide (mainly zinc carbonate ZnCO₃) formed as a byproduct of zinc sublimation, now used in skin lotions.
- 1959, “Poison Ivy”, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (lyrics), performed by The Coasters:
  Poison Ivy, Lord,'ll make you itch
  You're gonna need an ocean
  Of calamine lotion
  You'll be scratchin' like a hound
  The minute you start to mess around
- 2022, Ling Ma, “Tomorrow”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
  For Secret Santa two years before, she had gifted him a bottle of calamine lotion.
(mineralogy) Synonym of hemimorphite, an orthorhombic-pyramidal mineral containing zinc.

Synonyms edit

(pink form of zinc oxide): calaminaris, lapis calaminaris

Derived terms edit

calamine brass

Translations edit

pink form of zinc oxide

French: calamine (fr)
German: mit Eisenoxid eingefärbtes Zinkoxidpulver n (descriptive), Calamin m, Calamine n
Greek:
Ancient: Καδμεία f (Kadmeía)
Italian: calamina (it)
Latin: cadmia, calamina, calaminaris, lapis calaminaris
Spanish: calamina (es)

Verb edit

calamine (third-person singular simple present calamines, present participle calamining, simple past and past participle calamined)